Celebrate the genius of Beethoven with the BSO

The BSO’s 2017/18 Concert Season at Bournemouth Pavilionwill get off to an outstanding start this autumn as the Orchestra brings a thrilling concert dedicated to the genius of one of the greatest ever composers, Ludwig van Beethoven. Arguably one of the defining figures of Western classical music, Beethoven’s approach to composition was revolutionary. He reinvented the symphony, redefined piano sonatas and reshaped string quartets, and his greatest achievement was to raise the profile of instrumental music, long considered as inferior to vocal, to the highest echelon of art.

For this ‘Beethoven Bonanza’ concert on Saturday 14 October, Chief Conductor Kirill Karabits and the BSO will perform three of the composer’s best-loved works, including his Fourth Piano Concerto featuring the extraordinary talents of the winner of the 2017 Horowitz Piano Competition, Jun-Hee Kim. Having stood out amongst his generation for his remarkable virtuosity from an early age, Jun-Hee had won numerous national competitions before he reached the age of 12 and went on to make his debut with The Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra aged just 14. Fellow South Korean pianist Kun Woo Paik has applauded Kim’s musicality, remarking on his “strong sense of fantasy and sound.” In particular he praised Kim’s interpretation of Beethoven as “unique and highly mature.” Bournemouth audiences can look forward to a stunning performance of Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No.4 from this exciting young soloist, together with a spectacular surprise piano finale.

This most lyrical, poetic and fantastical of Beethoven’s concertos begins with a striking entrance from the solo piano, which caught the composer’s audience by surprise at the premiere of the piece in 1807, breaking with the usual convention of lengthy orchestral passages before the soloist enters. The premiere took place at a private concert in the Vienna palace of Prince Lobkowitz and a public performance with Beethoven at the piano, took place later in 1808. In addition to the bold opening, Beethoven also refused to conform to the Classical notion of a concerto as a partnership between orchestra and soloist. Instead there is almost the sense of a duel between the performers, with the orchestra thundering angrily at its apparent opponent which elicits a pleading response from the soloist. Eventually, all its anger spent, the orchestra retreats, making way for an energetic display of virtuosity from the piano in the thrilling finale.

The concert will open with Beethoven’s Leonore Overture No.3, a dramatic curtain-raiser and one of the composer’s four versions of the introduction to his only opera, Fidelio. Beethoven spent more time perfecting his overture to Fideliothan Rossini and Donizetti spent on entire operas, as each time the production was revived during his lifetime, he reworked a new version. The third overture comes from the 1806 production and is considered to be the best, musically, of the four versions. It is a grand symphonic work that reflects the dramatic form of the opera and this has earned the work a life of its own in the concert hall.

Beethoven’s debut symphony was written when the composer was aged just 25 and is a work grounded firmly in the 18th century but with hints of the greatness to come. The opening few bars, written in a different key to the symphony as a whole, demonstrate Beethoven’s tendency to break the mould and represent a distinct departure from the final symphonies of Mozart and Haydn. It provides the first examples of stylistic, harmonic and structural innovation in Beethoven’s orchestral writing and is full of energy and dramatic exuberance.

The BSO’s Concert Season at Bournemouth Pavilion is recommended by Classic FM, the Orchestra’s Principal Media Partner, and each concert in the series will be hosted by one of Classic FM’s presenters. As Classic FM’s Orchestra in the South of England, the BSO’s partnership with the broadcaster enables the Orchestra’s world-class music-making to reach even wider audiences, through outstanding coverage on digital and FM radio as well as online. This ‘Beethoven Bonanza’ will be hosted by Anne-Marie Minhall, familiar to many as the presenter of Classic FM Requests on weekday afternoons.

This concert is also part of the opening night of the 2017 Bournemouth Arts by the Sea Festival, taking place from Saturday 14 – Saturday 21 October. Brought to the seaside town each autumn by Arts Bournemouth, the festival presents an eclectic mix of intriguing, spectacular and (sometimes) down-right curious arts experiences including some of the best regional, national and international arts across dance, film, music, visual art, literature, theatre, comedy and more.